French firm picks up 15 pc stake in Riddhi Siddhi

Ahmedabad, Apr 12 (UNI) Global corn-miller major Rouquette Freres of France has tied up with Riddhi Siddhi Gluco Biols Ltd (RSGBL) to jointly develop high-tech pharma products like polyols and bio-degradable industrial starch products.

The Euro 2-billion French company has also picked up 14.95 per cent equity in the Indian company for Rs 31.73 crore to part fund the latter's Rs 120-crore plant at Pant Nagar in Uttaranchal to process 165,000 tonnes of maize products every year.

Rouguette's chairman Marc Roquette, who signed the deal here yesterday, said his company wants to expand its presence in India, launch new value-added products and to provide technological knowhow to set up new plants in India.

RSGBL chairman Sampatraj L Chowdhary said he is keen to bring the French company's strong research and development base to its modern plant at Pondicherry in India , adding Roquette Freres will source products from India for exports.

The French company, which has presence in Europe, United States, China and Japan, manufactures over 600 products from six million tonnes of maize, potato and wheat at its plants in Europe, U S and Asia. RSGBL produces 35 products.

During an interface with news persons, Mr Roquette said in view of limited fossil fuel resources, French government is actively encouraging R&D in 'green chemicals' and 'biopolymers', particularly polyols which are widely used in intra-venous injections and food-grade maltodextrin as a substitute for sugar.

Mr Chowdhary said RSGBL has upgraded R&D in its biopolymer unit it had recently acquired from Hindustan Lever in Pondicherry, adding it has also started developing new products for use in paper, textile and confectionary industry, besides pyrogen-free dextrose for pharmaceutical industries.

RSGBL has also begun developing several value-added products at its two other plants at Gokak in Karnataka it had acquired from Glaxo and at Viramgam in Gujarat, he said, adding starch has a wide range of applications in paper, textile, adhesives and leather industry, besides food and pharmaceuticals.

RSGBL, which posted a compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) of 24 per cent from Rs 23.11 crore in FY-96 to Rs 250-crore in FY-06, is projected to grow at the same rate to Rs 500-crore by 2009-10, the chairman said.

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